Hexbyte Tech News Wired These Are the Smart Displays to Watch in 2018

Smart displays are now officially a thing. Here are the models you should know about.

Hexbyte Tech News Wired Smart displays are the tech world’s latest fetish. They’re smart speakers with a voice assistant like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa—and a tablet-sized screen on the front to show the weather, album art, TV shows, video calls, and other (mostly) useful stuff. With Facebook and Google jumping into the fray with their own displays, it’s a good time to step back and examine the LCD-filled terrain. Below are most of major smart displays on the market and what they’re good for.

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01

Best for Music

JBL

Link View

We don’t yet know all the tasks smart displays will end up being used for, but JBL’s Link View (

) is an early frontrunner. It has the best speakers of any display we’ve tried, and its 8-inch screen is almost ideal—small enough that it doesn’t take up your whole countertop, but big enough for squint-free Google Duo video chats. Plus, it has a built-in privacy cover over its webcam to ensure no one is snooping on you unless you allow it.

) can’t pump out the jams as well as JBL’s Link View, but it has a stylish design that’s kitchen friendly. Google Assistant’s step-by-step recipe directions work perfectly on it. You can prop it up vertically for Google Duo calls or keep it widescreen, and it comes in two sizes: